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The Time Of Cheers, Face Paintings And FUN. The Time of the IPL!

That time of the year when you just cannot stay away from the TV or without uttering the words “Bhai, Score kitna hua hai?”.

Definitely no prizes for guessing, it’s the Indian Premiere League, better known as IPL.

So this year onwards and most probably for next five years, it would be known as PEPSI IPL.

Yes, you must have guessed that DLF is no more the sponsors of IPL after the “Dil Jumping Japang Jampak-Jampak” by Farah Khan making the rounds. Only companies like PEPSI could come up with something so catchy.

So starting in two days, we would be very, very engaged for the next two months.

Divided over 72 matches, the first and the final match of the series are planned in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens as they were the last IPL winners.

To add to it, there have been so many things to talk about, like the cricketers in news recently:

Jessy Ryder being assaulted in a bar in New Zealand recently.

Kevin Pietersen breaking his thumb ,will not be playing for Delhi Daredevils. Michael Clarke after losing 4-0 in the series to India will be unavailable for IPL and will prepare for the Ashes series.

Ponting will be captaining Mumbai Indians which has his arch rivals on-field like Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. And of course a lot more.

All in all, the sixth season of IPL – 6, is full of masala and has no less glamour quotient either.

Film stars like SRK, Priety Zinta and Shilpa Shetty will add to the zing on field. And then to add the firangi touch, we will have international stars like Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne’s girl friend who will be seen in IPL stands too.

Very soon the environment will be buzzing with cheers like “Aaarr Cee Beee” or “Dilliii De Mundee, Khele Front Foot Pe” or “Chennai Chennai Super Kings”..

Some things to look out for in the 9 IPL Teams:

1) Chennai Super Kings: After a series of ups and downs, the most successful Indian Team Captain will be captaining the most successful IPL team so far. By far, the most favored team to win the IPL every year with the likes of Mr. Cricket-Mike Hussey, Du Plesis, Ashwin, Jadeja and Dhoni himself. This list could go on if I write about each player; A team to place your bet on.

2) Mumbai Indians: Just one thing-SACHIN TENDULKAR. India’s favorite son. When he is batting, nobody cares what goes in the world-who cares who wins the IPL, who cares whoever is playing. Just who cares anything when he is on the pitch? Other than him, some stars to look forward to and who are being very much talked about- Ricky Ponting leading Mumbai Indians. Pollard (the IPL Champion boy), Malinga-the –slinger, Rohit Sharma. A team to watch out for.

3) Kolkata Knight Riders: The Champions. Kaay Kaay Aarr !! Lead by Gautam Gambhir, the biggest arsenal of the team is the mystery bowler, Sunil Narine. The Man-of-Series of last IPL, Sunil Narine, has not been grabbed by any international team yet and is someone to watch out any day. A very star studded team with some all around performers. The owner of the team is someone to look out too. Mr. SRK ! Involved in some controversy in Wankhede last year and banned for five years, he shows a lot of support and enthusiasm for his team.

4) Pune Warriors: The team captained by Angelo Matthews- but all eyes will be on our very own and an inspiration for so many people: YUVI. Yes, we will be watching him smashing the ball out of the park for Pune Warriors this time.

5) Sunrisers Hyderabad: Now here we have an old champion team of IPL-II with a new name; Sunrisers Hyderabad. Some wise man once said, you can never trust three things in your life-Akshay Kumar’s movies, your Life and Dale Steyn’s swing, which is something to look out for in the Sunrisers.

6) Bangalore Royal Challengers: Virat Kohli is expected to be the next national team’s captain. RCB this year will be lead by Kohli. So it will be good to see our future captain leading and the exposure he gets.

7) Delhi Daredevils: The Tiger Team. But without KP, the team looks like a tame cat lead by Mahela Jayawardene. Viru will open the batting-something to look forward to as we don’t see him much in the national team these days.

8) Kings XI Punjab: was very impressive in the first edition of IPL but after that somehow lost touch. Not a star studded team but you can never rule them out. How much ever you hate the Aussies, you can never hate the captain of the Kings XI, Adam Gilchrist. Cricket wise, once he gets going, the opposition can only go home.

9) Rajasthan Royals: Champions of first ever IPL, led by the good boy of international cricket, Rahul Dravid. Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane is a good watch for the team too. Not the best team on paper, but they blow the oppositions out on their day.

The IPL has given us a lot of young players who after IPL have made it big in international cricket. Ajinkya Rahane is one such example. Manish Pandey is the first Indian to score a century in IPL. Robin Uthappa is a delight to watch.

The IPL is always very interesting to watch through.

More analysis coming up on the performers of this season and the players who are expected-to-perform-but-not-performing in the coming issues.

Keep your eyes on this section for the IPL stories and also let us know the feedback on the stories you want to know more about.

Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Fried Eye than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our articles as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. To keep Fried Eye alive it takes a lot of time, money and hard work. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too. We don't want to produce content that everyone else is producing. Help us sustain by supporting us.
Help us grow. We’re a non-profit. For as little as Rs. 100, you can support Fried Eye – and it only takes a minute. Help us in bringing better content. Thank you.